Mein Kampf copies signed by Hitler to be auctioned

Adolph Hitler's Mein Kampf is considered one of the most racist and heinous screeds in modern history, but an auctioneer says two rare, early editions signed by Hitler could sell for more than $US20,000 ($22,373) at an online auction.

Nate Sanders, owner of Nate D Sanders Auctions in Los Angeles, said Hitler gave the books to Josef Bauer, an early follower who participated in the 1923 Beer Hall Putsch in Munich.

One of two rare copies of Mein Kampf signed by the young Nazi leader Adolf Hitler and due for auction. Photo: AFP

Hitler was arrested and jailed for the attempt to seize power. While behind bars, he dictated Mein Kampf - two volumes of autobiography and anti-Semitic manifesto - to Rudolf Hess to raise money for his criminal defence. Hess later served as Hitler's deputy.

The flyleaves of both volumes feature Hitler's signature with best wishes to his friend for the Christmas season.

Sanders said volumes of Mein Kampf from the 1930s are common because they were popular wedding gifts in Nazi Germany. However, a copy signed by the author is rare, he said.

The auctioneer said the 1925 and 1926 editions of Mein Kampf for sale were purchased by a collector at a Bonhams auction in London several years ago.

Sanders is also auctioning off a leather trench coat he said was worn by Albert Speer, a Nazi government minister who took responsibility for the Holocaust at the Nuremberg trials and was sentenced to 20 years in prison for his role in the Nazi regime.

Selling Nazi memorabilia is prohibited in many European countries that experienced the horrors of World War II.